title: Assessment of estrogenic recruitment before chemotherapy in advanced breast cancer: preliminary results of a double-blind randomized study of the EORTC Breast Cancer Cooperative Group.
abstract: We investigated whether estrogenic recruitment could enhance the antitumor effect of chemotherapy in 165 patients with advanced breast cancer, presumably sensitive to hormonal treatments (ER + and/or PgR + lesions). The therapeutic regimen consisted of: (a) estrogenic suppression by aminoglutethimide 1 g/day + hydrocortisone 40 mg/day; surgical castration in premenopausal patients only; (b) FAC (5FU 500 mg/m2; ADM 50 mg/m2; CPA 500 mg/m2) for 3 weeks; (c) following randomization, exactly 24 h prior to chemotherapy, patients had to take 1 tablet of either placebo (PL) or 50 microgram ethinylestradiol (EE2). Tolerance, responses, time to progression and median survival were identical in both groups. Thus, EE2 before chemotherapy did not contribute to the efficacy of this particular therapeutic regimen, which yielded an overall response rate of 64%. We conclude that the validity of the hormonal recruitment concept has not yet been established in clinical practice, so that this approach remains experimental.
authors.affiliation: C.H.U. Sart Tilman, University of Liège, Belgium.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Paridaens
authors.forename: J C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Heuson
authors.forename: J P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Julien
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Veyret
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: van Zijl
authors.forename: J G
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: Klijn
authors.forename: R J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Sylvester
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Mignolet
mesh_terms: D000616:Aminoglutethimide / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D015415:Biomarkers; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000601:surgery; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D004341:Drug Evaluation; D004361:Drug Tolerance; D004967:Estrogens / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D004997:Ethinyl Estradiol / Q000494:pharmacology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006854:Hydrocortisone / Q000494:pharmacology; D008875:Middle Aged; D011379:Prognosis
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D015415:Biomarkers; D004967:Estrogens; D000616:Aminoglutethimide; D004997:Ethinyl Estradiol; D006854:Hydrocortisone